consensus process

The roadmap will be developed following a consensus model that was found effective in previous experiences:

• Strand-based discussion (from 17-3-2006 to 14-5-2006) within a group of invited experts, aiming to the definition on the core challenges and the roadmap should address, and to the identification of the most controversial aspects. The six strands are: Hard Tissues, Soft Tissues, Fluid Modeling, Anatomy and Physiology, Multiscale Modeling, and ICT Infrastructure.
• Invitation-only STEP Conference #1 (Brussels, 15-16 May 2006) where the work of the discussion strands will reach a consensus
• Creation of a first draft of the roadmap, and launch of the public discussion, organised around new strands to be defined during the first conference
• New discussion involving an Extended Panel of hundreds of experts, as well as industrial, clinical, institutional and societal stakeholders
• Public STEP Conference #2 (Brussels, 5-6-7 November 2006) aimed to reach consensus on the most controversial points
• Publication and dissemination of a second draft roadmap with call for comments open to all stakeholders
• Publication and dissemination of the final RoadMap to the Virtual Physiological Human

All documents produced during this consensus process will be revised by an Advisory Panel composed by some of the most important experts on this argument, and by representative of the most important stakeholders communities: clinical, industrial, and societal.